A New York appeals court determines that the state properly imposed a penalty period on a Medicaid applicant who transferred assets to her caregiver daughter because she did not submit proof of a written agreement with her daughter or receipts for expenses. Matter of Krajewski v. Zucker (N.Y. Sup. Ct., App. Div., 3rd Dept., No. 522888, Dec. 8, 2016).
Jessie Krajewski lived with her daughter for two years before entering a nursing home. Ms. Krajewski's husband withdrew money from their joint bank account to reimburse Ms. Krajewski's daughter for her caregiving expenses. After Ms. Krajewski entered the nursing home, she applied for Medicaid. The state imposed a penalty period based, in part, on the transfers made to Ms. Krajewski's daughter.
Ms. Krajewski appealed, arguing that because the transfers were made to reimburse her daughter for her care, the payments were not made in order to qualify for Medicaid. After a hearing, the state upheld the penalty period, and Ms. Krajewski appealed to court.
The N.Y. Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Third Department, affirms, holding that Ms. Krajewski did not rebut the presumption that the transfers were made in order to qualify for Medicaid. The court finds that there was no evidence of a written agreement between Ms. Krajewski and her daughter and the only evidence consisted of handwritten summaries of Ms. Krajewski's living expenses, which was not enough to rebut the presumption.
For the full text of this decision, go to: https://decisions.courts.state.ny.us/ad3/Decisions/2016/522888.pdf
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